What Careers Advice Is Available To Me After My Exams?

Whilst you are at school you get plenty of careers advice on what you should be studying for and what courses to take. But how do you really know if this job advice matches the actual job on offer?

Pods4Jobs is all about Jobs and Careers. It has been designed to get real people talking about their own job giving a helpful insight to students from user generated video podcasts helping them to determine which is the right job for them. Making choices for students about your career is extremely difficult.

How do you even know what is really out there? The first place to look for help is you family members and their friends. At least they should give you a straight answer! They should tell you just how it is – but what if they don’t do the job you want to consider?
Students who are considering being a teacher (for example) can see many teachers talking about their jobs, their likes, dislikes, the skills needed and how they got into the job and make an informed decision as to whether they will be suited to the job or not.
Anthony Broderick, founder of Pods4Jobs, realised there was a big gap in the market for real advice when his children asked him to help with their choices.

“When I asked them what they wanted to be, they really had no idea. We spent weeks trying to find some real people and real jobs to get an insight in to some of their preferences. Of course, there were lots of sites but none showed the full story including how, on some occasions, careers get off to a false start before a dream job is found. With this in mind we set up Pods4Jobs.”

But how do you go about creating your own podcast? When shooting a video there are lots of things to consider. The most important thing is to make it interesting for your audience. Here are a few tips which you may find helpful:

Try to get some relevant background into the shot (e.g. show interviewee in a building site, or a factory, or an office or beside some machinery or on a tractor). It’s good to get both the interviewer and the interviewee on screen / in the frame.

Then zoom in & shoot so the interviewee’s and interviewer’s head and shoulders fill the screen (this also allows some background). Background – check the background – so there’s nothing strange like a tree branch which looks like its sticking out of the interviewee’s head.

Clothes – ask the interviewee to wear any suitable clothing or equipment relevant to the job e.g. construction worker — safety helmet; farmer tweed cap, nurse – nurses hat, doctor – with white coat and stethoscope around neck etc.
Lights/Sun – do not make the interviewee face strong sunlight (or artificial lights) as they’ll have squinty eyes and also feel uncomfortable. Do not shoot into the sun. Try to ensure there is good light as it makes better video.

Steady Camera – hold camera steady (two hands, or lean against something, or ideally, fix it to a tri pod).Sound – is just as important as vision – so please avoid wind noises, traffic noises or any background noises if possible.

Keep microphone near person if possible. Avoid moving any microphones when filming (as it creates noise). We cannot use any video if we cannot clearly hear the interview. It is better to face the person you are interviewing rather than face the camera but be careful the sound quality is not compromised. Wait 5 Seconds – press ‘record’ then wait 5 seconds before you start the interview. Upload your best video to Pods4Jobs.com – give great career advice to all our visitors.